IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I didn't realize you guys were still THAT MAD about the Revolutionary War. If we apologize, will you take him back?

SPIKE LEE WAS RIGHT.

and i don't get to say that often!

If we apologize, will you take him back?

But then they'll give us the royal family and they'll be free of them. We must therefore accept the lesser evil in lieu of the greater.

Surely part of the humour inherent in ali g's act is that he's a typical (VERY slightly exaggerated) brit home counties "wigga" and in fact is not a white guy playing a black guy at all? It seemed very obvious to me that he was a skit on tim westwood (BBC rap dj - white, boojwah CoE privately educated background - talks in cringe-inducing faux-black/"street" manner "it be happening for him", stuff like that) He was actually pretty funny at first IMO, especially as the other part of his satire was based around the awfulness of "YOOF" TV programming. I cannot possibly see how ali g can be anything other than a miserable failure in the US. His act is so much based on one place, and one type of person. No doubt the US "wigga" Xsists, but I imagine VERY different to the UK, & more specifically home counties one.

Oh, and you can have the Royal Phamily as well. PLEASE TAKE THEM AWAY WE'LL THROW IN THEE KROWN JEWELS TOO.

i can't believe the term 'wigga' is in common usage with otherwise intelligent people.

you isall racialist batty boys - ayyyye

I can't either, but in all fairness if "nigga" has developed a meaning seperate from the offensive one, I can't get mad about "wigga" and not be a hypocrite. (Fortunately, I like to revel in my hypocracy.)

wait a minute, wait a minute. is this guy some poor british knock off of eminem or is he in blackface or something? i don't get it.

my apologies ethan & dan, I was using "wigga" as shorthand for "middle class white kid who takes on cliched faux black/"street" mannerisms from popular culture". I wasn't aware that it had offensive connotations.

Don't forget the movie, and the single with Shaggy.

Don't worry too much about it; I'm drinking at the moment, so I'm only offended intellectually rather than emotionally. ;)

Why, you souse, you lush. Then again, I had some wine earlier. Celebrating for your twin one day in advance, then? Why thank you! ;-)

I just want to note for resurrection-posterity that Dan and Ned's posts cannot possibly have been made any later than 2:30 pm in Ned's case and 5:30 pm in Dan's.

Brit knock off of eminem? No. and not in blackface either. The characther he is protraying is white. What he was was part of an utterly awful brit TV satire program. His act consisted of dressing up like the home counties posses who at the time of the original program were popular. Identifying characteristics of such folks were dedication to "junglist/drum & bass" kultur (esp pirate radio) dress sense from certain more flamboyant US rap acts, driving around in souped up garish cars w/ k-loud sound systems and so on. Apparently SBC used to hear such folks calling in to pirate radio stations & was incensed by their putting on of cliched "black" accents IE highly patronising. He would take this character and pretending to be from a youth TV prog would interview various politcos & officials, affecting an air of "street coolness" as well as utter utter ignorace. Almost w/o exception the people interviewed fell for his act, and scared of looking old & out-of-date made complete idiots of themselves. I thought it was pretty funny. However the act got popular, & he couldn't get away w/it anymore. Hence madonna videos, records & all that. No doubt rubbish. High points of the original TV slot (which was usually v.short) were when he interviewed left wing firebrand politician Tony Benn, who fell for his act, but argued with his views V strongly & impressively, and when he went to cannes film festival & hawked his student film to various execs IIRC it was called "boo yaa" & consisted of ineptly shot guns & fucking. At least one of them actually bit. The act basically had a short life span & should have been over at least 2 yrs ago. I think he's still doing it b/c it's all he can actually do.

QUITE RIGHT, Nitsuh. I had a glass of wine with lunch and it was delicious, so ha. ;-)

norman is totally korrekt: ali g is nevertheless a squillion bazillion times funnier than curtis walker, whose entire shtick ran completely out of content exactly one second after he first got up on-stage

curtis walker is still around? wow, thats funny

i believe norman is correct on this. i think something that was a bit more complex in its origins (and played to a supposedly 'knowing' audience) has of course been smoothed out gradually. interestingly, my own initial reaction was different again. i had initially thought that he was playing at being an asian (indian subc) playing at being black. so, shows what i know eh?

SBC also went to Haberdasher's, big North London private school with LOTS of Jewish and Asian kids in it. The boys' school is full of posturing hip-hop types; the Asians are known as Raggastanis or Bhangramuffins (after the *hilarious* Goodness Gracious Me sketch).

INNIT!?!

As if the US hasn't suffered enough;>

Mind you, will the Americans get Ali G, or just consider him a weak mirror image of Vanilla Ice?

"I'll take door number 2, Monty!"

boyyalllll & a big shout out to me ile homies...aaaaaaay